U-M sets goal of driverless car network by 2021

ANN ARBOR (AP) — The University of Michigan has announced a collaboration with government and business to make its hometown of Ann Arbor the first American city with a shared fleet of networked, driverless vehicles by 2021.

The school says its Mobility Transformation Center is pursuing the goal of having a driverless vehicle system in operation within eight years.

University Transportation Research Institute director Peter Sweatman says “Ann Arbor will be seen as the leader in 21st century mobility.”

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He says the program seeks to show that driverless vehicles “can be safe, effective and commercially successful.”

Researchers are conducting a street-level connected vehicle experiment called Safety Pilot that involves 3,000 area residents in networked vehicles.